Interlocked hinged closure



June 23, 1953 J. A. O'REILLY 2,543,047

INTERLOCKED HINGED CLOSURE Filed May 1, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l INlfENTOR. JasEPH 6'. 7 85/41. Y

June 23, 1953- J. A. O'REILLY 2,543,047

INTERLOCKED HINGED CLOSURE v Filed May 1, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INV'ENTOR. JOSEPH 4 O/Q /LLY BY kg ,0 W

{other objects ofthe-lnvention-l liave pro 1 improved details of construction, the preferred forms of which are illustrated in'the accompany- Patentecl June 23, 1953 2,643,047 "mfiiitiiookiiii HINGED cnosiiim Joseph n. ORieill y. E1 Cerrit'o, Calif., 'assigfldr of one half to Williafn P. Hooker, Redwood City,

Calif.

ixiitiieeiiiin my 1, 1948. Serial isa.* 24. 'sis 1 p This invention relates to i-nasravem s in n"- terlocking connections. More on rlygi-t reference tomeans for these "ring together *of pieces of resilient sheet mater seen a -eaia board, Celluloid, t-hin p'iec es or 1 the like, by the interlocking oi p with parts of the other piece; cipal object of the present in eiitio p e an interlock or connection adapdd for the ion-iing of thin, resilient or 'flei'iibleistripsor pie'ces or sheet material that will effectively aria-sate factorily hold the pieces joined together wit ut the use of rivets, staples, adhesive ineazis drother of the commonly used device's 'for thi's purpose. More specifically stated, the present irivention i e sides in the provision of parts in the pieces that are to be joined, wherebyan*interlocking ccnnem tion may-be easily and readily inade.

It is also an object of the invention to define certain parts in the pieces ofm'atrial thatareto e be joined, by a novel disposition *of :slits, that provide partially detached pdrtions in the two members that may be'easily and-'radilyengaged in an interlocking connection.

It is a further object of the present iiiventioh to provide an interlock that- 1s*especiallv'applicable for use in securing tog-ether the wall portions of cardboardoartons or the like, such as used for the packaging of butter, ice cream, eggs, and various other-products.

Still further objects of the present invention il'ainr. (c1. sas -44 reside in the details ofcons'truction'of'partsthat are to he interengaged and'inthemannr ofdi'iterengaging them to effect interlock.

In accomplishing the above inentidned and i'djed the ing drawings, whereinp i Fig. l is a perspective viewfwherein thefcovr flap of a cardboard carton anda' side wallmemher are slitted to provide for an interlocking connection in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the carton showing the slitted portions of the cover flap and a side wall member of the carton secured in an interlocking connection.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged elevation of interlocked portions of the carton wherein a part of the cover flap is broken away to show a set of parallel slits in the underlying wall.

Fig. 4. is a vertical section taken on the line 4-4 in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on the line 5-5 in Fig. 3.

' Fig. 6 is a new "showingan alternative :riiaiiner of slitting the cover flap.

" igs. 7, 8 and 9 are elevati'oiial views showing modifications inthe arrangement of sets-prover lapped parts to provide the present interlock.

. Referring-more in detail to the drawings-- For urpose of illustrating "the present invention, -I have shown n Figs. l and "2, ac'ommon form 6f-earton asus he packingpf bdtter or ice creain. j The "carton is 'inade from'a eardboard blank that is 61111;, c'rea'sed and folded :to rectangular boa-like form, providing a ifront wall section mend ='a cover-portion H with an at- 'tached "flap 1 2 designed to overlap with the Wall H1 "and t-o'be 'joi-ned threwith by the interlocking means embodied-by the presentf-invention "To provide the present 'interlockftlie froiit wall it is provided with a p'liir ality 'o fsets of ip'afallel slits i l-l4, which may be straight a's shownon Fig. 1, or irregular-es later described. They-are spaced aparta'iidcoeiiteiisive. For a cbntainer of the type shown iii-Fig. 1-, it desirable that the severe-1 sets of slits be horizontally aligned. "In "a common type of 'biitter cartonf tlrese slits would 'b'eappi'oximately' /t inch apart and one-half inch long. However, the lengthf-and'spacing of the 'slits is'of' n'o particular-significance and may vary in accordance with' 'th'e phatractenhfthe material i iiilnwhioh the 'al lfh i'sfdlmd or withtheuse 61 13116 artides in *Wh'i'h the interlock-is frmade.

In the present "instance; I 'haveishown, in the wall i d;-'arranged lengthwise' ofthe wall atre'gulair]y" s'i'itiaceol intervals. Formed in the cover flap 12 "are correspondingly*arranged sets ofisli-ts P5 l5 "vv'hich may be ar'cuatel'y curved as in Fig. 2 or otherwise-shaped as later -iies'c'ribed, and which at their ends are s'paced substantially f in accordance withlthe verti'calispacing of thelp'aired slits [L -F4 and are or substantially the same *extent as the slits l t-"l d. Thel-niedialtportions of the paired slits |5-| 5 are arched away from each other The arrangement of paired slits l4|4 in the wall I!) defines partially detachedwall sections l6 between the slits. Likewise, the paired slits Iii-I5 in flap l2 define partially detached-sections I1 between them.

With the wall In and the flap so formed with the paired sets of slits l4l4 and l5-I5, it will be understood that by placing the cover flap l2 over the side wall 10 as in Fig. 2, the partially detached sections ll between the paired arcuate slits |5l5 of the cover flap will directly overlie the partially detached sections 16 between the paired slits I l-I4 of the wall l0. Also, it is to be understood that by pressing inwardly on the central portions of the overlying sections I! while supporting the portions outside and adjacent to the underlying slits i l-I4 in wall Hi, the underlying sections 16 of wall will be depressed to such extent that the arched upper and lower edge portions of the partially detached sections [1 will spring to the inside of the straight edge portions immediately above and below the slits I4|4 in wall iii which define the depressed section [6, thus to provide an interlocking connection as best shown at the left side in Fig. 3, and in Fig. 4. In Fig. l it is noted that thepartially detached portion ii that is defined between paired, arched slits it, has been pressed inwardly to such extent that the arched upper and lower edge portions, designated in Fig. 4 by reference numerals, IT and II, have been sprung and have passed to the inside of the wall It to engage there against above and below the slits I l-l4 which define the inwardly pressed section Hi.

The interlocking of parts as above described, at the several points prevents relative movement of the joined parts in a vertical direction with reference to the showing in Fig. 2, and also prevents endwise or horizontal movement. This is because the slits in overlapped parts are substantially of the same length and the upper and lower edge portions of the sections l'l fit closely against the ends of the slits I4 which contain them. It may be explained that in the present showing the curvature or shaping of the slits may be to more or less extent than shown; the degree of curvature 0r shaping being governed to some extent by the material used; by the particular type of carton; by the strength of connection required or by the use to which the carton or connection is to be put.

It is anticipated that the interlocking of parts may be both manually and mechanically effected, but preferably by mechanical means.

While in Fig. 2 I have shown the paired slits i i-i i to be parallel and the paired slits l5|5 to be arched or arcuately curved, it is to be understood that the invention also anticipates other shapes. For example, the slits l5 might comprise outwardly outset portions, as at I50: in Fig. 6, parallel with the alignment of the end portions of the slits, or various other shapes that would provide for accomplishing the same results as the arched portions of slits [5. For example, the forms as shown in Fig. 8, or that of Fig. 9.

In Figs. '7 and 8 I have shown a connection employing an alternative arrangement of slits in the connected parts. In this arrangement, the straight slits ltb of the underlying wall member 19?) are spaced equally from and at regular intervals about a center point and are perpendicular to radial lines diverging from the said center point instead of being in parallel relationship, and

4 the slits l5b of the outer, or overlying wall portion lib are correspondingly arranged and are so curved as to provide for the interlocking of the edges of the partially detached section beneath those portions immediately outside the straight slits in the underlying piece.

In Fig. 9 I have illustrated a connection which is similar to that shown in Fig. 1, except that the slits 15x, of the overlying strip 25, are drawn to a point rather than being arcuately curved. In each of these modifications, the idea and the manner of applying and using the interlock are the same as disclosed in Figs. 1 and 2.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A folded blank carton comprising a body having a front wall and a hinged cover having a flap extending over and overlying the front wall when the cover is in closing position, means interconnecting the flap with the front wall to efiect the closing and locking of the carton, said means comprising a plurality of pairs of parallel coextensive straight longitudinally and vertically spaced apart slits in the front wall and a plurality of pairs of arcuate longitudinally and vertically spaced apart slits in the flap with the arcs of each pair of slits extending outwardly with respect to a common point between each pair of slits and being on arcs taken from points in the body of the flap between each pair of slits, each pair of arcuate slits forming a pair of oppositely extending arcuate tabs in the body of the flap between each pair of arcuate slits, the arcuate slit having terminal ends with the distance be tween the terminal ends substantially equal to the length of the straight slits in the front wall and the width of the tabs being substantially equal to the length of the straight slits, the arcuate tabs of each pair being inserted through the respective pair of straight slits to effect the closing of the carton, the tabs and straight slits being substantially co-extensive, whereby a secure locking of the cover flap to the front wall is effected throughout their lengths and all relative movement between the cover flap and the front wall is substantially prevented.

JOSEPH A. OREILLY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,959,649 Trogman May 22, 1934'.- 2,120,470 Patterson June 14, 1938 2,133,946 Bloomer Oct. 25, 1938 2,160,164 Palmer May 30, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 410,845 France May 31, 1910 

